Herald (23 December 2007, Vol.14, No.50)
‘Sabah mufti issue fatwa on statue’ (p.8)
KOTA KINABALU: The Mufti of Sabah issued a fatwa (religious decree) that declared statues haram (forbidden). With that fatwa the Thean Hou Foundation was forbidden to erect the Goddess of the Sea statue and was ordered to halt all work although they had already brought in the statue and work had progressed halfway.
Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat, the former deputy minister Chief Minister of Sabah went to meet the PM and DPM in an attempt to try and resolve the matter. The DPM urged the PM to do something as this matter can be very explosive. Article 11 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia allows freedom of religion. While this freedom is not extended to Muslims, and Muslims may not leave Islam or convert to another religion, the government cannot interfere in non-Islamic religions as stipulated under the Constitution.
The largest Buddhist statue is in the ‘Islamic’ State of Kelantan. UMNO says that PAS is an extremist party and very intolerant towards non-Muslims or towards other non-Islamic religions. But PAS allows the largest Buddhist statue in Malaysia in the state that it rules. (Malaysia Today)
‘Kudat Goddess of the Sea and Juridic norm’ (p.10)
The former Deputy Chief Minister of Sabah, Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat has filed an appeal in the Kota Kinabalu High Court on Wednesday Dec 12, 2007 against the withdrawal of an earlier approval to construct a multi-million ringgit statue of the Goddess of the Sea (Mazu) in Kudat.
The Kudat Town Board on February 8, 2006 had issued the letter of approval for the construction of the giant statute. A 20 feet platform for the statue was completed five months later at a cost of RM 1 Million.
Within this short period there were letters from the Kudat Town Board to suspend the construction of the statue. Further to these letters was a Fatwa issued on July 7, 2006 by the Mufti Kerajaan Negeri Sabah advising that the construction of the statue would offend Islam and ordered that the construction be stopped in order to protect the sensitivities of the followers of Islam.
Chong then went to meet the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in an attempt to resolve the matter. But it was to no avail. Subsequently and for whatever reasons, Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat resigned as Sabah’s Deputy Chief Minister on April 13, 2007. Responding to the news of his resignation, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was reported in The Star as saying that Chong’s resignation is “ ‘not really a loss’ because it will not weaken the Barisan National state government”.
(Note:The rest was omitted by Lily due to irrelevant information.)
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